Rationing in Cuba

<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2>
The vast majority of <a href="/facts/Cubans/aNVlo3IR">Cuban</a> families rely, for their food intake, on the Libreta de Abastecimiento (literally, "Supplies booklet") distribution system, instated on 12 March 1962.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a> The system establishes the <a href="/facts/Ration/QeR6Ynwo">rations</a> each person is allowed to buy through the system, and the frequency of supplies. Most of these products are distributed at the local bodega (convenience store specialized in distributing these rations), and in the case of meat, poultry or fish, at the local carnicería (meat store).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a> Other industrial products are also included in the libreta, such as <a href="/facts/Cigarettes/8kuVCjbr">cigarettes</a>, <a href="/facts/Cigars/cuUUCR2t">cigars</a>, matches and cooking <a href="/facts/Fuel/H8DIRL1j">fuels</a> (<a href="/facts/Liquified_petroleum_gas/bw6trakm">liquified gas</a>, <a href="/facts/Alcohol_(chemistry)/Y0SCTDkh">alcohol</a>, <a href="/facts/Kerosene/DoHPYXKp">kerosene</a> or even <a href="/facts/Charcoal/tpYGBHTn">charcoal</a>, depending on each person's means for cooking). Other products can also be distributed through this method, such as <a href="/facts/Light_bulbs/v3fb5WBp">light bulbs</a> and other home supplies.

Products included in the libreta vary according to age and sex. For example, children below 7 years old are provided 1 litre of <a href="/facts/Milk/wDJBUHvy">milk</a> per day, as are the elderly, the ill, and pregnant women.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a> Adults above 65 years are entitled to different allowances, as well. Granting a special diet requires presentation of a medical certificate which confirms the health condition and what product requirements this condition has.
A <a href="/facts/Politics_of_Cuba/yygFFzF4">Government</a> office, specially created for this task, the OFICODA, distributes the libreta to all citizens each year, in the form of a small booklet. This booklet contains pages indicating the exact number and age groups of persons composing the family nucleus (typically, one booklet is released per family nucleus), as well as any dietary indications. A person's products are distributed only at the bodega that serves their area of official residence. A person cannot receive their products somewhere else, so each change of address requires returning to the OFICODA to update the booklet's data, and those living away from their registered addresses have to return to the previous area for their supplies.
Products distributed through the libreta mechanism are sold at <a href="/facts/Subsidy/W9lLudyn">subsidized</a> prices, which have been kept more or less stable since its inception (the mean salary of a worker has varied very little since, as well).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> The libreta contains a page for every month, where the clerk marks what products were withdrawn, and in which quantities. Cubans are required to present the libreta each time they buy the rations.

At its inception, the rationing system included not only food products, but industrial products as well. Along with the libreta, a tear-off <a href="/facts/Coupon/NChtYpBt">coupon</a> booklet was distributed, whose purpose was to set the allowances for industrial products, mainly clothing, shoes, and home products, as well as rationing the toys sold to families with children (which were allowed 3 different toys per child per year, usually sold near or on 6 January, <a href="/facts/Three_Kings_Day/j4pUmR6j">Three Kings Day</a>, or Día de Reyes). After the demise of the <a href="/facts/Eastern_bloc/12f32hA7">Eastern Bloc</a> in 1991, Cuba entered the "<a href="/facts/Special_Period/YtHko27z">Special Period</a>" and industrial products were no longer distributed through this system.
A specific set of laws regulate the functioning of the system, as well as establishing penalties for its misuse. Most irregularities deal with clerks not recording products in the booklet, or recording them incorrectly, and the weighing of the products distributed. Citizens could be legally liable if they do not promptly inform the local OFICODA of any changes in the composition of the family nucleus.

<h2 id="standard-rations">Standard rations</h2>

A table follows that illustrates the standard ration distributed through this system. Figures are per person, per month. An indication of the subsidized prices is given, as well. Allowances vary from year to year, so these should be understood as approximate figures, based on data from 2000:

<table><tbody><tr><th>Product</th><th>Quantity</th><th>Price (<a href="/facts/Cuban_peso/jTGt1TQ1">CUP</a>)</th></tr><tr><td>Rice</td><td>6 pounds (2.7 kg)</td><td>0.70 / lb</td></tr><tr><td>Beans</td><td>20 ounces (570 g)</td><td>0.32 / lb</td></tr><tr><td>White (refined) sugar</td><td>3 pounds (1.4 kg)</td><td>0.15 / lb</td></tr><tr><td>Dark (unrefined) sugar</td><td>3 pounds (1.4 kg)</td><td>0.10 / lb</td></tr><tr><td>Milk (only children under 7 years)</td><td>1 lt / day</td><td>0.25 / each</td></tr><tr><td>Eggs (*)</td><td>12</td><td>0.15 each</td></tr><tr><td>Potatoes/bananas</td><td>15 pounds (6.8 kg)</td><td>0.40 / lb</td></tr><tr><td colspan="3">(*) Only from September through December.</td></tr></tbody></table>
Meat products are distributed separately, if available, following a different rationale. These are distributed every 15 days, and usually rotate (that is, the product type changes on each delivery). Fish, beef, ground beef (usually mixed with soy), chicken, sausages and ham fall in this category. Quantities, and prices, differ for each meat product (beef, ½ lb/person each 15 days, whereas chicken is 1 lb/person every 15 days).
It must be said that distribution is not always prompt, and product delivery is frequently delayed (for example, if one month there were no beans to distribute, they usually cumulate for next month, although this is not always the case). Such delays are most evident in beef distribution. The fact that products are not available at the bodega always, but arrive in a more or less random manner, creates long queues when products arrive, which sometimes makes buying the products a quite lengthy process. So, this required a mechanism to be invented so that people with special needs, such as old persons and pregnant women, had precedence on the queue. This mechanism became known as Plan Jaba. Jaba is a word for a flexible basket or bag taken from the vocabulary of <a href="/facts/Neo-Taino_nations/2vzI9BWt">Neo-Taino nations</a> and originally was made of dried woven strips from palm fronds.
It was estimated in the early 2000s that the rationing covered between one third and one half of a family's needs.
President Raúl Castro moved to eliminate many products from the rationing system, including potatoes and peas.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a>

<h2 id="other-sources">Other sources</h2>

The libreta is not the only means of acquiring goods available to a Cuban citizen, as many of these and other products are freely available on the mercado libre (free market) and mercado paralelo (parallel market), and in the numerous supermarkets and stores that sell goods in <a href="/facts/Cuban_convertible_peso/7HrJ11hG">convertible pesos</a>. (Such stores were originally set up taking <a href="/facts/United_States_Dollars/naEEDUhC">United States Dollars</a> and were referred to as "<a href="/facts/Dollar_store_(Cuba)/2C5to0RK">dollar stores</a>". They began catering for foreign visitors but many are used mainly by Cubans). In addition, Cuba has an active black market (mercado negro, often described as por la izquierda – by the left hand) in many goods.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a> Black market goods may be simply items sold by unlicensed vendors (for example, fish caught and sold directly, or home-made items), or may be stolen goods. Many Cubans rely upon connections and barter, or "<a href="/facts/Sociolismo/fHxTD7YF">sociolismo</a>", to obtain the items they need.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a>

<h2 id="government-justification-for-the-rationing">Government justification for the rationing</h2>

The Cuban government states this method of distribution serves to ensure each citizen a minimum intake of food, regardless of the person's social and economical status, and has publicized plans for its demise (although specific dates have not been provided). It also stresses that the libreta is not the only means of acquiring goods available to a Cuban citizen, as these and other products are freely available on the mercado libre and mercado paralelo, and of course in the numerous supermarkets and stores that sell goods in <a href="/facts/Cuban_convertible_peso/7HrJ11hG">convertible pesos</a> or <a href="/facts/Euros/NWG2nlCx">euros</a>. The prices in the ration book are about 20 times lower than the free market. It says as well that humanitarian aid received from other countries is distributed through this method in a fair and equitable manner. The official stance on this subject is that of being undesirable, but unavoidable and fair.
The government also says that rations are not used for political leverage, and distributes the subsidized food equally to all citizens, regardless of their <a href="/facts/Politics/1gDNy3RP">political</a> views or judicial status. However residents and refugees from Cuba report that their rationing books were taken away when they were perceived to be anti-revolutionary.

<h2 id="criticism">Criticism</h2>

Detractors question the fairness of this method as well as its purpose, and stress its deficiencies, such as a historical decrement of the delivery frequency and quantities of goods distributed and, in their opinion, this method creates profound economical differences within the Cuban people, dividing the country in half: those who can afford the higher prices of goods in <a href="/facts/Cuban_convertible_peso/7HrJ11hG">convertible pesos</a> or in the mercado libre, and those that simply cannot.
They stress, as well, the fact that the measure was adopted by the Cuban government in 1962 as a temporary palliative to a crisis and has lasted for more than fifty years.

<h2 id="additional-rationing-in-2019">Additional rationing in 2019</h2>
In May 2019, Cuba imposed rationing of staples such as chicken, eggs, rice, beans, soap and other basics (Some two-thirds of food in the country is imported). A spokesperson blamed the increased U.S. trade embargo although economists believe that an equally important problem is the massive decline of aid from Venezuela and the failure of Cuba's state-run oil company which had subsidized fuel costs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a>

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rationing in Cuba.

<ul>
<li>Cuba portal</li></ul>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Rationing/QeR6Ynwo">Rationing</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Rationing_in_the_Soviet_Union/7NuBGRCl">Rationing in the Soviet Union</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Rationing_in_the_United_Kingdom/WcyfUWUf">Rationing in the United Kingdom</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Economy_of_Cuba/oobE52GK">Economy of Cuba</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Cuban_Cuisine/rCVA9TjE">Cuban Cuisine</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Culture_of_Cuba/9jFcz6Gb">Culture of Cuba</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Sociolismo/fHxTD7YF">Sociolismo</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">"Cuba Rations Staple Foods and Soap in Face of Economic Crisis". The New York Times. 11 May 2019. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"Cuba Rations Staple Foods and Soap in Face of Economic Crisis". The New York Times. 11 May 2019. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"Cuba Rations Staple Foods and Soap in Face of Economic Crisis". The New York Times. 11 May 2019. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Tamayo, Juan (July 11, 2013). "Cuba's food ration stores mark 50th anniversary". Miami Herald. Retrieved August 17, 2016. <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article1953193.html" target="_blank">http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/article1953193.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">"Monika, She is Cuba". May 14, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2016. <a href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/16893337/Monika-She-is-Cuba" target="_blank">https://www.behance.net/gallery/16893337/Monika-She-is-Cuba</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">"Cuba Rations Staple Foods and Soap in Face of Economic Crisis". The New York Times. 11 May 2019. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Fonseca, Brian (January 2020). "Venezuela and Cuba: The Ties that Bind" (PDF). www.wilsoncenter.org. <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/uploads/documents/Venezuela-Cuba%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/uploads/documents/Venezuela-Cuba%20FINAL.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">"Cuba Rations Staple Foods and Soap in Face of Economic Crisis". The New York Times. 11 May 2019. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Niño, José (2019-06-12). "Cuba Implements Food Rationing as Its Economy Enters Crisis Mode | José Niño". fee.org. Retrieved 2022-09-18. <a href="https://fee.org/articles/cuba-implements-food-rationing-as-its-economy-enters-crisis-mode/" target="_blank">https://fee.org/articles/cuba-implements-food-rationing-as-its-economy-enters-crisis-mode/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">"Cuba Rations Staple Foods and Soap in Face of Economic Crisis". The New York Times. 11 May 2019. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">"Cuba Rations Staple Foods and Soap in Face of Economic Crisis". The New York Times. 11 May 2019. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/11/world/americas/cuba-rationing-sanctions.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">"Cuba rations chicken, eggs and rice as economic crisis worsens". National Post. May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019. Cuba imports roughly two-thirds of its food at an annual cost of more than $2.7 billion and brief shortages of individual products have been common for years. In recent months, a growing number of products have started to go missing for days or weeks at a time, and long lines have sprung up within minutes of the appearance of scarce products like chicken or flour. <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/world/cuba-launches-rationing-in-face-of-economic-crisis" target="_blank">https://nationalpost.com/news/world/cuba-launches-rationing-in-face-of-economic-crisis</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">Overview of Cuba's Food Rationing System José Alvarez University of Florida <a href="http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FE482" target="_blank">http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FE482</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Overview of Cuba's Food Rationing System José Alvarez University of Florida <a href="http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FE482" target="_blank">http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FE482</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">Overview of Cuba's Food Rationing System José Alvarez University of Florida <a href="http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FE482" target="_blank">http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FE482</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Garth, Hanna (2014). "They Started to Make Variants: The Impact of Nitza Villapol's Cookbooks and Television Shows on Contemporary Cuban Cooking". Food, Culture & Society. 17 (3): 359. doi:10.2752/175174414X13948130847981. S2CID 147320148. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">Cuba cuts back on rationed products <a href="http://archive.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2009/11/07/cuba_cuts_back_on_rationed_products/" target="_blank">http://archive.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2009/11/07/cuba_cuts_back_on_rationed_products/</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">Garth, Hanna 2009 Things Became Scarce: Food Availability and Accessibility in Santiago de Cuba Then and Now. NAPA Bulletin 32:178-192. <a href="https://www.academia.edu/965534/THINGS_BECAME_SCARCE_FOOD_AVAILABILITY_AND_ACCESSIBILITY_IN_SANTIAGO_de_CUBA_THEN_AND_NOW" target="_blank">https://www.academia.edu/965534/THINGS_BECAME_SCARCE_FOOD_AVAILABILITY_AND_ACCESSIBILITY_IN_SANTIAGO_de_CUBA_THEN_AND_NOW</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">Garth, Hanna 2009 Things Became Scarce: Food Availability and Accessibility in Santiago de Cuba Then and Now. NAPA Bulletin 32:178-192. <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">"Cuba rations chicken, eggs and rice as economic crisis worsens". National Post. May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2019. Cuba imports roughly two-thirds of its food at an annual cost of more than $2.7 billion and brief shortages of individual products have been common for years. In recent months, a growing number of products have started to go missing for days or weeks at a time, and long lines have sprung up within minutes of the appearance of scarce products like chicken or flour. <a href="https://nationalpost.com/news/world/cuba-launches-rationing-in-face-of-economic-crisis" target="_blank">https://nationalpost.com/news/world/cuba-launches-rationing-in-face-of-economic-crisis</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Rationing in Cuba open-in-new

Rationing in Cuba